***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Poco Pollo]

Cats are the ultimate ungarnders. I put jiffy pots with started brussels sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet peas into the garden yesterday, and today I found every single plant dug up. The holes were uniform, very tidy, and all the plants were on the west side of the row from which it was dug. I've put each plant back into the soil. I hope being out of the ground for a day hasn't killed them. The cucumbers look the worst. The stems are dried to nearly nothing right at the base of each sprout.

I'm going to start a second batch of seeds today, just in case the first batch is ruined. I've put a gate in front of the garden area. I hope it's enough of a deterrent to keep the cats away. When I'm planting trees, or planting anything at all, the cats just sit around my feet and watch. This is the first time they have dug anything up.

Robin - I'd moved some tomato, bell pepper, snap peas, and cucumber sprouts into a wash basin for you, and I put it out on the porch to get some sun yesterday. The cats didn't dig those up, but they did eat the tops off all the sprouts.

I'm going to start another set of seeds for you today. I've got a piece of plexi glass around here somewhere. I'll use that as a lid to keep the cats out.

 

[Kassaundra]

What kind of soil do you have? We only have red clay here and pretty much nothing grows well. I did turnips last year but they didn't get very big, onions were a bust as were potatos. I had to grow all my okra and tomatoes in containers.

Sandy w/ some clay, one end of the garden is not very rocky but more clay (brown clay though not red) the other end had more sand stone and not as much clay. Not much organic matter yet this was the first year to garden in this location. My turnips did outstanding huge, beets notta, didn't plant onions, potatoes notta and planted them in tires, this year I deep planted them (10 inches or so down) so I'll see how the potatoes go this year, the carrots I didn't think had done much b/c there was so little tops, nothing like you see in the grocery store but they are amazing!!!! the whole house smells of carrots and I just have them sitting in the buckets right now haven't started to wash or cut them yet. I'm up to one 5 gal and one 3 gal bucket and still have more to dig.

 

[Kassaundra]

Birds under 6 months old do not get tested. Most hatcheries get eggs from NPIP tested flocks, Birds have to be tested each year. If you sale chicks, eggs, or chickens you do not have to be NPIP certified flock, BUT lots of people will not buy birds from a flock that isnt tested, for the sake of not wanting to put untested birds with their tested birds, making their flock no longer NPIP certified. I may be off on some of this, but this is the way I gathered it when they tested my flock.

Thanks for the info, sounds like I need to get that started. I haven't sold any eggs yet, but am thinking about selling some hatching eggs, especially when my new chickens get grown.

 

[mefordz]

A sunburn in the part of your hair is horrible, you forget about it until you go to comb and rake across it!!! Ouch! But in your case mefordz, well.......................................................... let's just say the "part" of your hair is a little wider then most. LOL

thats just my superior intelect pushing thru!

or else where the wife has been slapping me on top of the head, not realy sure which now.

just got back from the horsepistol, they wanted new pics of my sexxy knees!

right knee, not so bad, left knee, pretty dang bad.

supreme commander say's she is gonna have to stock up on cheese for the whine, i have no idea what she is talking about.

 

[Oceanseve]

Some of the seeds I planted last week are sprouting! I can't believe it, I grew something

The cats didn't dig those up, but they did eat the tops off all the sprouts.

I'm going to start another set of seeds for you today. I've got a piece of plexi glass around here somewhere. I'll use that as a lid to keep the cats out.

Oh no! sorry you have to redo all that hard work! Had to keep my old boy out of my cactus pot this morning

It was mostly in his way for window sitting, but you'd think he'd realize that's a bad idea.

Sandy w/ some clay, one end of the garden is not very rocky but more clay (brown clay though not red) the other end had more sand stone and not as much clay. Not much organic matter yet this was the first year to garden in this location. My turnips did outstanding huge, beets notta, didn't plant onions, potatoes notta and planted them in tires, this year I deep planted them (10 inches or so down) so I'll see how the potatoes go this year, the carrots I didn't think had done much b/c there was so little tops, nothing like you see in the grocery store but they are amazing!!!! the whole house smells of carrots and I just have them sitting in the buckets right now haven't started to wash or cut them yet. I'm up to one 5 gal and one 3 gal bucket and still have more to dig.

I'm jealous! Never thought about planting them in the fall. I'll try it

We just had (2 weeks ago) close to 150 chickens,quail ,peafowl and one stupid turkey done by the state...$5.00 anything over 4 months old. Right now the state is also checking for AI for free when they come to do the NPIP inspection...

I'll look for the number...and post it in a minute

Tammera Saaverdra, 405-522-6139 is at the Oklahoma Dept of AG, she is the one to call and schedule an appointment.

Midway down this link, shows the forms for NPIP http://www.oda.state.ok.us/ais/forms.htm

For those that are interested, she is also the point of contact for a one day class in Oklahoma City to become certified testers...next class is in April, if those prices are going up...and I know some independents charging $5.00 per bird, it would be worth your $30.00 to get certified to do your own flocks...

What's Al? Thanks for the info, I'll have to wait a few more months till most of mine are old enough.

WOW I just called home and realized I have the best hubby ever. He has not only sprayed the baby pens and the pens on both sides of the baby pens down with Oxine this morning he started on new brooders. We decided we didn't want our babies moving outside at 2 weeks anymore. We are going to be a LOT more picky about not keeping any birds near the feed house and keeping the little birds away from the full grown ones. So from now on they will all stay in the house until 5-6 weeks of age. We have a large basement and so he is building me 4 large brooders down there. He is making the dividers where I can remove one and make an even bigger brooder if we need to. They will be 36" x 42" each. He is making the fronts removable so I can just remove it and sweep all the wood chippings up when I clean them. This will give him a few weeks to build the new grow out pens we will need. Knock on wood we haven't lost anymore birds today, praying this solves our problems. I didn't realize that Oxine was so versital so I ordered 2 gallons this morning and we will be using this instead of the bleach I have been using to wash feeders and waterers each week.

Now I can't wait to get home to see his handy work, I know my chicks will be much happier in the house where I can watch them much closer.

That set up sounds great, you'll have to post pics when it's done. Sounds like the hubby deserves a treat

right knee, not so bad, left knee, pretty dang bad.

supreme commander say's she is gonna have to stock up on cheese for the whine, i have no idea what she is talking about.

Sorry the knee news isn't good

 

[GracefulBantams]

AI is avian influenza, or "bird flu"

 

[Kassaundra]

Just finished all the digging, grand total is two 5 gal buckets and one 3 gal bucket. Took some over to the neighbor children who are always asking about my garden and trees.

 

[spunkychickenmomma]

I am itching to hatch something in my bator but have no room to keep anything I hatch right now. Anybody be interested in F1 Olive Eggers at POOPS? These will be from a FBCM X Lavender Ameracuana cross.

 

[Buster52]

Well, shoot.

I should have listened to my gut. I was leery about getting rid of some of my best dogs, but thought my two Pyrs and a lab would be enough deterrent. I was wrong. The two females tangled with something last night that almost got the best of them. They did their job, because I lost zero critters, but they were put through the ringer. The Pyr is all marked up, and the lab had to go in for stitches... $375 worth. The male Pyr, best fighter in the bunch, doesn't have a mark on him, so I figure he was lazing about while the girls did all the dirty work. Man, I could kick myself.

Going to go out tonight to see if whatever it was comes back.

Then I'm going to start shopping for another LGD.

 

[Kassaundra]

Sorry about your dogs, but glad they could be fixed w/ some stitches. The man kicking back and letting to women do all the work sounds aweful familiar.